Project SLAM

THE PURPOSE OF THIS website IS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND USERS TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS OF THE STATE LIBRARY ARCHIVES MUSEUM (SLAM) PROJECT IN JUNEAU, ALASKA.

The Vision

The new State Library, Archives and Museum [SLAM] building develops a state-of-the-art facility that collects and manages the care of objects and documents representing the peoples and history of Alaska and telling their story in their voices. Our institution enhances access to primary resource materials for students, lifelong learners and researchers with:

Expanded physical access through exhibition and more efficient collection storage

Continued development of professional skills and opportunities for the development of Libraries, Archives and Museums in Alaska

The Obligation

The agency that is responsible for the safe keeping of the state’s archives and collections is equally careful about the way the project is perceived and the way the project delivers the services. Being cost- conscious and making decisions that add value have been the centerpiece and spirit behind the design and the services delivered to date for the SLAM project. For example:

Project Design savings to date through collaborative building program efficiencies: $6.6 million

Administrative savings through effective design and construction management: $3.2 million

Building contractor services negotiated savings: $5.0 million

Operational economies such as:

Significant increase in operational space while maintaining staff at current level and reducing operating costs

Triple collection storage and double public exhibition space for museum

Approximately double storage space for Historical Collections and Archives

The Deliverables

The Department of Education and Early Development [EED] and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities [DOTPF] interagency cooperation has been elemental for determining what is best for the project while being in the State’s best interest. Even though SLAM is a complex project and constructed in phases, the interagency partnership has produced project costs that will be lower than other facilities of this type constructed in Alaska or the lower 48. [See comparison chart.]

Durable building materials

50-year interior materials lifespan with minimal maintenance

100-year building envelope with minimal maintenance

High performance building envelope to reduce heating/cooling loads

Heat recovery system captures up to 80% of waste heat

Seawater from below the site provides cooling and dehumidification

DOTPF successfully negotiated a GMP (guaranteed maximum price) with the construction company that is within DOTPF’s project estimate

DOTPF successfully negotiated a lease with Mental Health Trust for construction support areas at a reduced cost for the project

Full project funding achieved June of 2014

In the project cost plan all of the risk of sequencing the construction activities is held by the entity most able to manage that risk – the construction contractor. If full funding was not realized within the proposed schedule, the construction contract would have needed to be re-negotiated / re-priced with the risk of the sequencing then shifting to the owner through the re-scoping of the project. This would have resulted in additional costs and in more project complications. Most significantly, the owner would have been required to manipulate building and program design to make scope adjustments within a different project cost plan. This scenario was largely avoided through consistent, cooperative, and clear communications between the project team, Governor’s office and Legislature.

Full funding for SLAM has been gradual but steady and has moved the project through land purchase, design, construction start-up in January of 2013 and scheduled project completion
in May of 2016.